Overthinking and pushing off decision making was the #1 thing that drained me of all of my energy last year. It’s what made me feel less present than I’ve ever felt, it made me anxious and stressed because I was overthinking way too many things (which drains so much mental energy) and it made me push off so many things in life and business simply because I let fear and being too passive get in my way.

As you’ve heard me say many times, our energy speaks louder than our words and our actions to our dogs. So if I'm feeling distracted and I’m overthinking a decision over a long period of time I'm likely also feeling other feels like frustration, anxiety, helplessness, exhaustion..

All of those feelings are picked up by our dogs. So when were trying to be their pack leader, but we actually feel off then were sending mixed messages to our dogs.

So this is another episode that’s not talking much about dogs, but just remember.. The more we do the inner work with ourselves, the faster you’ll see the results you want with your dog.

So I’ve learned a ton in the last year about decision making because I started to realize I was sucking at it and my obsessive ass dove real deep into research.

Here's a summary of 15 Best Decision Making Tips:

1. In order to make a decision you have to decide with removing all biases.
2. To make a decision, compare both options as if they both resulted in something amazing. Then decide which one you would prefer.
3. What does your future self think? Which one leads you to the person you want to be?
4. You can’t make a decision in stress or with bad physiology. So if your burnt out, beat up, anxious, tired, hungry, hurt or in pain, or in the middle of a heated argument don’t make big decisions.

5.  How many decisions am I making right now? We tend to pile tons of decisions into one which makes everything so much harder than it needs to be. If we just took it one step at a time it won’t seem so heavy. 

6. Constantly remind yourself that decisions are not permanent.
7. Why are we stressing about the big decisions when the little ones are the ones that can potentially change your life?
8. What makes a decision difficult for you? And what makes one easy? Is it based on how bad you think the consequences are or is it how much you have to sacrifice?
9. Always let your intuition guide you. Overthinking is the art of creating problems that never existed. So try not to overthink things and try to get in the habit of trusting your gut.
10. When you make a decision stick to it for a given amount of time.
11. Are you the only one making decisions in the house? Let's change that. Decision fatigue is a real thing, ya'll!
12. Don't take yourself so seriously. Have fun with decisions and remember things are only heavy if you let them be. Decisions are only difficult if you give them that power.
13. Come up with a hypothesis and start experimenting. 
14. Most people operate from only having two options. Option A and Option B. But what about option C that has both of them included. Or other option? Think outside of your own box!
15. Always make decisions out of abundance, not with a lack mindset. So don’t let normal boundaries and limitations stop you. This goes mostly for time and money.

Resources Mentioned:

Ed Mylet and his podcast the Ed Mylett Show

Brooke Castillo and her podcast the Life Coach School

James Wedmore and his Podcast Mind Your Business

Rachel Hollis and her podcasts Rise & Rise Together plus her Start Today Journal

Kathrin Zenkina and her podcast The Manifestation Babe

Courtney's Links:

More episodes of the Thank Dog It's Friday Podcast

Dog Squad LA's Instagram & Facebook

Courtney's Personal Instagram

Courtney's online program The Dog Parent Experience

--> Next Episode: Friday, January 17th